Our daughter recently turned one and I made this 1st birthday photo banner for her party! I love this craft for sentimental reasons, but I think you could make it your own for all types of parties. Not only does this work for children, but it really is great for any age birthday or celebration!
Make one for a retirement party, graduation, or any milestone birthday. You can even make one for yourself, because why not?! Keep reading to learn how to make a birthday photo banner in just a few simple steps!
And just like that, our daughter is one! This past year has been such a blur and I’m grateful for how many photos and videos are on my camera roll. Time really does go as fast as everyone says it will and I don’t want to forget any of it (even though I feel like I already have).
When planning her first party, I knew I wanted to use the photos as part of the party decorations. And what better way than with a photo garland?! Plus birthdays can also get expensive fast and this craft is a great way to decorate without breaking the bank.
Here’s how I made it:
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Materials
- Cardstock (plain white)
- Cardstock (glitter or pattern)
- Black + White Printer (you can also print at Staples)
- Scissors
- Tape Runner (you only need one roll)
- Festooning
- Pom Poms
- Tape
- String (optional)
We also had a larger head made for the front door for the party. You can have a custom one made on Amazon for ~$30! I added a hat the same way as I did for the smaller versions that we hung inside.
Before You Start
Before you can put your banner together, it’s helpful to do some prep work for your images! Be sure to do these two things before you get started for a better end result:
Resize Your Images— they don’t have to be the exact same size, but they should be approximate. You don’t really have to worry about other items in the photo itself, just make sure the heads take up roughly the same amount of space on paper.
Make it Black & White— this isn’t a phrase you’ll hear from me that often, but it really works for this project! That way you don’t have to worry about lighting differences or have to edit every photo from your phone to get it perfect. Just apply a black and white filter and everything will look uniform.
Making the Birthday Photo Banner
1. Print your photos on cardstock. A heavy weight paper will help in durability and print quality. It helps to look for a variety of expressions when deciding what faces to print, but really you can just print your favorites.
2. Cut out the faces as close to the face as you can. You can leave details like ears and hair, but stick to the overall outline of the face.
3. Cut a triangle out of your patterned cardstock to make the hat. I found that smaller triangles helped if you want the party hat off to the side of the head.
4. Using a tape runner, apply a stripe of festooning where the hat meets the head. You can apply the pom pom at the top of the hat the same way.
5. Repeat with every photo you have until you’re done!
You can hang these on their own or tape string on the back to hang as a garland.
Why Make a Birthday Photo Banner
- It’s adorable. Really you’ll smile the entire craft.
- It’s relativity low cost to put together while taking up a fair amount of wall space.
- You can save it and use it every year (add a bit to it each year)
- Your kid will love it just as much as you do!
We left ours up a few weeks after her birthday and she was so excited to see them every time.
To hang, just add tape to the back (double check that it won’t damage your walls first).
And that’s how you make a first birthday photo garland! I really can’t wait to make this project year after year for her. Image on her 18th birthday a collection of her faces throughout the years– it’s going to be so good!
Let me know if you have any questions about the project!
Here’s a quick video of how to make the birthday face garland:
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